Textbook

The textbook for the course is
Physics, Principles with Applications (7th edition)
by Douglas C. Giancoli, ISBN 978-0-321-62592-2.

Class Attendance and Participation

Please turn off cell phones during class.

A portion of your course grade is based on class participation.
Of course, you must
attend class in order to participate and earn participation
points.

Exams

There will be three 50-minute exams during the normal class time. The
exams will contain both conceptual questions to be answered in words
and problems to be solved. No computers, cell phones,
or any electronic devices with wireless or network capability are
allowed during exams. You will be allowed to use a calculator during
exams. At the end of the semester, we will have a comprehensive final
exam.

Homework

There will be a computer-based homework assignment for each chapter
in the textbook that we study. The
purpose of these assignments is to give you an opportunity to work
with the concepts that we discuss in class and that you read about in
the textbook. ("The only way to learn physics is to do physics.") I
encourage you to start work early on the homework. This way
you will have multiple opportunities to see me before the deadline.

The homework is available on a web site, using a computer-based
learning environment called moodle.

Important details about moodle

You do not need to do a homework assignment in one sitting.
In fact, you should not. You can do a few problems one day and a
few more the next day. If you get a problem wrong, you can try it again,
although your grade decreases slightly with each additional attempt,
so don’t just guess.

Do not include units when submitting answers to homework problems.
Each problem should tell you what units to use. If no unit
is specified, use the appropriate standard SI unit (for example,
kg, m, s, N). Enter only
the numerical answer into the computer.

Do not count significant figures of the given numbers to decide
how many significant figures to include in your answer.
The computer will regard your answer as correct if you are
within 1% of what it regards as the correct answer.
So, keep at least 3 or 4 significant figures in your calculations
regardless of the number of significant figures given
in the problem.

Do not type commas in your answers, such as 39,450.
Instead, type 39450.

You may use exponential notation in your answer if you wish.
Instead of 39450, you may type 3.945e4 or 3.945E4.

When you have answered all of the problems
on the homework assignment, you must click the box that
saysSubmit all and finish. If you fail to click this
box, your grade will not be recorded. On the other hand, do
not click this box until you are finished with
the entire homework assignment.

Laboratory

There will be a weekly 3-hour laboratory session in which you will do
activities designed to clarify how the concepts presented in class
apply to the physical world.
All laboratory issues
(for example, if you need to make up a laboratory because of
an illness) should be taken up with the laboratory instructor
rather than the lecture instructor.

Grading

Your grade will be determined by a weighted average
as indicated in the table below.

Exams

45%

Homework

20%

Laboratory

15%

Class Participation

5%

Final Exam (comprehensive)

15%

Your letter grade for the course is determined by the weighted average.
The minimum weighted average (out of 100) required for each letter grade
is indicated below.

A

93

A-

90

B+

87

B

83

B-

80

C+

77

C

73

C-

70

D+

67

D

63

D-

60

F

0

Your grade is not an indication of how much I like you.
It is not an indication of your worth as a person.
It is not even a measure of your ability to learn physics.
It is my judgment of your accomplishment in learning physics,
in particular the portion of physics that we studied.

Office Hours

Please feel free to stop by my office any time to chat.
I will make a special effort to be in my office during the
office hours posted on my door (also listed on my web page).
We can also make an appointment to get together if that is
convenient for you.

General Education

PHY 103 may be taken to satisfy a portion
of the Liberal Studies component of the College’s General Education
requirement. The course satisfies the
Natural Science area (L3) of the Liberal Studies component.
Courses in the Natural Science area present
findings, concepts, and theories of science, develop an understanding of
scientific methods of inquiry, engage students directly in the practice of
science, and prepare students to think critically about scientific
issues. Physics 103 is an L3 course because it explores a foundational
theory of science, Newtonian mechanics, and because it engages
students directly with the physical world in the laboratory activities
of the course.

Academic Honesty

Any student who submits plagiarized work will be subject to the
penalties described in the Student Handbook and outlined in LVC’s
“Academic Honesty Policy”
(http://www.lvc.edu/catalog/acad-reg-procedures.aspx).
This code asks each student to do his/her own work in his/her
own words.

A student shall neither hinder nor unfairly assist the efforts of
other students to complete their work. All individual work that a
student produces and submits as a course assignment must be the
student’s own. Cheating and plagiarism are acts of academic
dishonesty.

Cheating is an act that deceives or defrauds. It includes, but is not
limited to, looking at another’s exam or quiz, using unauthorized
materials during an exam or quiz, colluding on assignments without the
permission or knowledge of the instructor, and furnishing false
information for the purpose of receiving special consideration, such
as postponement of an exam, essay, quiz or deadline of an oral
presentation.

Plagiarism is the act of submitting as one’s own the work (the words,
ideas, images, or compositions) of another person or persons without
accurate attribution. Plagiarism can manifest itself in various ways:
it can arise from sloppy note-taking; it can emerge as the incomplete
or incompetent citation of resources; it can take the form of the
wholesale submission of other people’s work as one’s own, whether from
an online, oral or printed source.

Students who take part in violations such as cheating or plagiarism
are subject to a meeting with the Associate Dean of Academic Affairs,
who has the authority to take further action, up to and including
expulsion from the College.

Disabilities Services Syllabus Statement

Individuals with disabilities are guaranteed certain protections and
rights of equal access to programs and activities under Section 504 of
the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act
Amendments Act (ADAAA) of 2008. Therefore, Lebanon Valley College
recognizes the responsibility of the college community to provide
equal educational access for otherwise qualified students with
disabilities.

Any student who needs classroom or testing accommodations is invited
to present letters from the Center for Disability Resources and
discuss accommodations with me after class or during office hours. The
Center for Disability Resources is located in the Lebegern Learning
Commons—Mund Suite 002. Students may schedule an appointment by
calling 717-867-6028.

Inclusive Excellence

LVC is a community of inclusive excellence. We affirm the rights of
all persons to a superior educational experience that is characterized
by respect for others. As such, this class and all classes at LVC,
are places where our core values of inclusiveness, civility and
appreciation of difference are affirmed.

Title IX

Lebanon Valley College prohibits discrimination on the basis of race,
color, national origin, ancestry, religion/creed, sex, pregnancy,
sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, disability,
genetic information, marital/familial status, or veteran status in all
programs and activities, as required by Title IX of the Educational
Amendments of 1972, the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990,
Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, Title VII of the Civil
Rights Act of 1964, and other applicable statutes and/or College
policies.

Title IX makes it clear that violence, harassment, and any type of
sexual misconduct based on sex and gender are civil rights violations.
If you or someone you know has experienced violence, discrimination,
or harassment, support is available through Counseling Services,
Health Service, the Chaplain’s office, the Victim Advocacy Program,
and Title IX deputies. Please refer to the Student Handbook for
specific contact information.

Student Success Intervention Team

At Lebanon Valley College, we want you to succeed in and out of the
classroom. Administrators and faculty work together to ensure not
only academic success but a highly productive and positive four-year
experience. Students who are not performing to their potential can be
referred to the Student Success Intervention Team (Early Alert
Committee), which is a group of individuals from Student Affairs,
Academic Affairs, and Enrollment Management. This group will guide
you through any difficult situation, whether academic or personal.
You should, consider it your assignment to follow through and accept
assistance from the appropriate source(s). Don’t be afraid or
hesitant to seek help from these individuals: supporting you is their
job! Be proactive and take control of your success.